Cruise ship cuisine

[spinbaby]

I just got off a cruise. Everyone was raving about how good t food was. I thought it was just passible—very mediocre and mostly tasteless food in elaborate presentations. For instance, the butter was whipped and piped into a fancy swirl in a fancy little dish, but it had absolutely no flavor whatsoever. I’m not even sure it was butter. Desserts tended to feature lots of little dots and decorations surrounding commercial ice cream or thawed pastries.

I think this style of cooking should be called American Pretentious. I’d rather have plain food that tastes good than fancy food that tastes of nothing.

[flamin lib]

1. I'm with ya. We seldom go out to eat, even for special

occasions. My food is better, more flavorful and healthier than any upscale restaurant we visit.

There was one favorite that never disappointed until they got a new chef. Service is great and timing superb. Place your order, get the wine and amuse and enjoy conversation. Appetizer comes out and again enjoy conversation. A light pallet cleaner just before the main course. Finish the main and have conversation until dessert and coffee. The wait staff is invisable, coming and going at precisely the right time. Dinner was an experience with perfectly prepared dishes, each an experience in itself. Then they got a new chef.

The service was the same but it couldn't overcome the food. The amuse was an undercooked shrimp on a cracker topped with micro greens. No spice, no bright flavors, just cold shrimp on a cracker. Appetizer was Lady Crab soup. It arrived with a skin over the surface. Pallet cleaner was watermelon sorbet in a shot glass. Probably the best part of the meal. Main was ribeye with mixed vegetable medley -- on a cold plate. I can't even remember the dessert. All for a mere $150 for the two of us before tip.

We had celebrated our anniversary there for a number of years. I felt like I had lost a loved one.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. Ha...just wrote something similar below. Where

Do you live? I live in Texas now..and there is nothing I would pay to eat here. There's always been one chef I think is brilliant though - Emeril. His first priority is TASTE. At least that's the way he was years ago in Nola. You have to leave healthy out of the equation..but I still dream about his Texas garlic crusted drum with lump crab and brabant potatoes roasted in duck fat.

[catbyte]

2. "American Pretentious," Perfect.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

3. What cruise line? Norwegian is great because you

Can pay extra to eat in three upscale restaurants that are very good.

Otherwise you are very right. Reminds me of the horrible all-inclusive resorts

Otherwise did you enjoy the ocean? Stops ?

[spinbaby]

4. River, not ocean

Which was disappointing because I’d always heard that the river cruises had better food. The best cruising dining experience I’ve had was—rather unexpectedly—Disney. The best meal I had on my recent European excursion was provided by—also unexpectedly—Air France.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

5. Interesting. Did you fly from US on Air France?

We are saving to fly at least business class to Europe and I've been meaning to look up the best.

Do you think you might be a super taster? My mom recently told me she was and that I might be too. Been meaning to look it up. She said it was that you are born with more or enhanced taste buds?

All I know is that as I get older I can't hardly even stand to eat at a normal type restaurant...like at a Chili's or something....it tastes horrible to me. And I'd rather cook than go out most of the time. It's almost like a curse that's getting worse. Lol

[spinbaby]

6. This was a flight within Europe

A short flight where I wasn’t expecting food at all, and suddenly I had this great meal dropped on me. It wasn’t even hot except for the roll. To summarize the meal:

Chilled poached salmon. Firm, not soggy, perfectly seasoned and served with a little dollop of a yogurt dill sauce.

A multigrain salad topped with carrot shreds. Again, perfectly seasoned.

A hot, chewy roll with some of that glorious French butter.

A small disk of goat cheese. I don’t even like goat cheese, but this was mild and creamy and very good.

A tiny blueberry tart, barely sweet, in which you could really taste the blueberries.

I would DEFINITELY recommend Air France just based on this one meal.

Don’t know if I’m a super taster, but I do pay a lot of attention to taste and texture.

[Hortensis]

8. Our son and DIL, and a couple pair of friends, were

trapped on a cruise ship last year with what they all agreed was the worst food they'd ever had, at least serially.

We'd fed them when they spent the night on their way to the port, and they sent all their friends a passionate stay-away report with the picture our son had taken of his dinner plate showing their last decent meal for several days. Apparently American Pretentious would have been a significant upgrade over their tribulations, but I chose to be flattered by the comparison.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. Which cruise line makes a huge difference.

My impression is that the ones that carry five thousand passengers simply are doing all they can to keep up with getting food out to the passengers, and not a lot of energy is left over for quality.

The only cruise I've ever taken was on Holland America. I had a wonderful time and thought the food was pretty good. I mostly ate at the buffet or in the regular dining room. Or I got a hot dog and french fries at poolside. I am always happy with a hot dog. I did get to eat twice at the more expensive steak venue.

I'm hoping to take a cruise to Hawaii sometime in the near future. I discovered that I really liked the days at sea, and want to see if I still like them when I have five or six days at sea all in a row.